Carle, JVR future Olympians?

Canadian Olympic team general manager Steve Yzerman was in Philadelphia recently scouting Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Chris Pronger and Claude Giroux, but what about the Flyers’ young Americans?

With defenseman Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) picking up another goal and two assists and James van Riemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) adding a goal and an assist in the Flyers’ 6-1 win over Carolina on Saturday, talk is brewing that both could earn berths on the U.S. Olympic team.

“That’s not for me to decide, but I’d like to think so,” said Carle, whose 12 points rank him third among NHL defensemen. “I’m just trying to go out every game and show what I can do. If that changes some minds, that’s great. If not, I’ll keep plugging away and try to help this team win.”

Neither Carle nor van Riemsdyk were invited to the U.S. Olympic team orientation camp in August, but it would be hard for U.S. general manager Brian Burke to ignore the starts they are having.

Despite sitting out two games with a concussion, van Riemsdyk is tied for third among NHL rookies with 10 points and has recorded at least a point in seven of his nine games.

“I haven’t really thought too much about that,” van Riemsdyk said of an Olympic bid. “I’d probably be a long shot, but maybe if I keep playing well I can get my name into the mix somehow. It would be a huge honor to play for your country. The U.S. has a ton of depth. It would be a huge challenge and hopefully, I can make their decision hard for them.”

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On the ice and in the locker room with the Philadelphia Flyers

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Dave Isaac joined the Courier-Post in April 2012 after covering the Flyers for the past three seasons. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
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